PSC moves to control expenses charged to customers

JACKSON — The Mississippi Public Service Commission has scheduled a hearing Sept. 8 in Jackson on a new rule that would limit the travel expenses that public utilities could charge to ratepayers.

Specifically, the new rule, proposed by Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley, would limit any costs passed on to customers to only those which are at coach rate on commercial airlines and supported by both documentation and justification.

Presley says in a recent case, the three-member PSC denied a request by Mississippi Power Company for the inclusion of $900,000 in corporate jet expenses to be passed on to customers.